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Product # 070403

Type Paperback

ISBN 978-1-56158-270-9

Published Date 1998

Dimensions 9 x 11

Pages 256

Photos 278

Drawings and drawings

Probably more than any other tool in the shop, the custom workbench reflects the personality and experience of its maker. And for the great majority of makers, the construction of the workbench is a labor of love. In The Workbench Book, Scott Landis examines benches for all kinds of woodworking -- from a traditional Shaker bench to a mass-produced Workmate. There are benches for cabinetmakers, boatbuilders, carvers, and country chairmakers. In each case, detailed photos and illustrations show how the bench works and help guide you through the tough parts in its construction. With 19 pages of measured drawings, two chapters on vises, and a list of sources of supply, this is one of woodworking's all-time classic books.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Evolution of the Workbench

2. 18th Century: The Roubo Bench

3. 19th Century: The Shaker Bench

4. An Old-Fashioned Workhorse

5. A Modern Hybrid

6. A Basic Bench

7. A Workbench Sampler

8. Benches to Market

9. Shop-Built Vises

10. Off-the-Shelf Vises

11. Japanese Beams and Trestles

12. Country Shaves and Brakes

13. Boatbuilding

14. Lutherie

15. Carving

16. The Workmate

Bench Plans

Bibliography

Credits

Sources of Supply

Index

Introduction

Why a book about workbenches?

This book grew, in part, out of my personal attachment to tools. I'm one of those fanatics who can spend more time building a canoe than paddling it. Regarding most subjects, I relish the journey at least as much as the arrival. The workbench is no exception. It is the foundation tool of the woodworking trade, upon which all handwork is performed and without which we would have difficulty completing a single project. Although the bench takes different forms, it is perhaps the only tool that is common to every branch of the craft -- from country chairmaking to urban cabinetmaking. That it is ubiquitous is partly the cause of the neglect. Library shelves are crammed with books about furniture, and to a lesser extent about the tools that are used to make it. But none attach more than a passing interest to the workbench...